Land o' Lakes: Chardonnay Revealed

We Americans like butter. We like it on our popcorn, our slippery corn on the cob and on our baked potatoes. We also apparently like it in our wine. I once had a very well-educated, older woman privately inquire if so-called "buttery" chardonnays in fact had dissolved butter added to them for flavor. Not a bad question, actually, especially if your tasting experience is limited to heavily-oaked, California chardonnays, which do have lots of creamy, milky textures and flavors. Just how do winemakers get those tell-tale flavors in the bottle? Read on for a quick "Wine 101" lesson.

Here's a mouthful of a phrase -- "malolactic fermentation." When you're talking white wines, this process is especially important. Grape juice starts out with a lot of naturally occurring malic acid. Think of the flavor of a tart, crisp Granny Smith apple eaten straight from the refrigerator, and you'll have a good approximation of what malic acid is all about. Now think about lactic acid, which for those who are lactose intolerant means that ice cream and other dairy treats are a no-no. As its name implies, lactic acid is found in milk products. Thus, when a wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, those crunchy-crisp malic acids are transformed into creamy, milky acids. This process is especially discernible when carried out via the canvas of the chardonnay grape. Winemakers must choose if they want a chardonnay to undergo "full" malolactic fermentation, in which all of the malic acids in the initial grape juice are transformed, or perhaps to arrest the process and only allow partial malolactic fermentation, with less creamy acids in the final wine. It's not that one style is inherently better, of course, but is rather a point of personal preference.

The second key factor that has given rise to the adjective "buttery" is the use of oak barrels. Chardonnay is a great vector for oak, as winemakers have long known. But just how much time in oak barrels, what type of oak barrels, and what kind of toastiness the cooper gives to the barrel are critical decisions. Brand-spankin' new barrels offer more dramatic flavors than the gentle flavors of barrels that have been used for several vintages. American oak and French oak add very different aromas and flavors, too. And a barrel with a high degree of toast from its manufacturer adds distinct flavors that a low-toast barrel may not. And friends, if your bottle of buttery chardonnay has a million or two identical twins out there in the world, you can be sure that its oak flavors are artificial and didn't come from any real barrel anyway. Many consumers are shocked to learn that low-cost chardonnays with lots of oak flavors get them via the Frankenstein method; injecting large-lot wines with chemical additives designed to mimic the flavor of oak is a huge aspect of the business. Another short-cut that allows for bulk wine production is simply to float oak chips in big vats of chardonnay juice – much cheaper than actually paying for real barrels.

Be experimental with your chardonnays. Like them big and buttery? Try bottlings from different regions of California or from other states to compare regional styles. Head to France and try some white wines from Burgundy, the ancestral home of chardonnay. And don't forget to try unoaked chardonnays, too. Winemakers are increasingly taking a page from the experts in Chablis, France, who typically make crispy, refreshing chardonnays that spend little to no time in oak at all. These high-acid chardonnays can be a revelation, and are among my personal favorites.  

Daily Sip:  What's your all-time favorite chardonnay?  Weigh in with your favorites here.